title: Sensory detection of food odour in relation to dental status, gender and age.
abstract: The aim of this study was to investigate to what extent declining odour perception can be ascribed to dental status and oral hygiene habits, taking into account gender and age. Apparently healthy adults (n = 182), ranging from 53 to 93 years (mean age = 68.4) were tested. Information about oral hygiene habits (brushing teeth and cleaning dentures) and dental status was obtained by questionnaires. A validated objective procedure was used to measure sensory detection thresholds for isoamylacetate by an ascending method of limits. A significant negative correlation of odour perception with age was shown by the edentulous subjects which might reflect their wider age spread with many subjects over age 75. The evaluation of odour perception as a function of dental status shows no significant difference in odour perception between persons partial denture wearers, with natural teeth only or complete dentures. However, a tendency for lower odour perception was observed among male partial denture wearers, especially those reporting less frequent oral hygiene, which justifies further more detailed study.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Analysis, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium.
authors.forename: M I
authors.initials: MI
authors.lastname: Griep
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Collys
authors.forename: T F
authors.initials: TF
authors.lastname: Mets
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Slop
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Laska
authors.forename: D L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Massart
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology*; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D005260:Female; D005502:Food; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009812:Odorants; D009909:Oral Health; D012678:Sensation Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology; D012684:Sensory Thresholds / Q000502:physiology; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D012903:Smell / Q000502:physiology*